Fifty years ago, film audiences were treated to a little horror film called ‘The Exorcist.’ The 1973 film ended up scaring audiences all over and would ultimately become one of the scariest films ever made. The original has earned $233 million domestically and $441.3 million worldwide.
The 1973 film ultimately spawned a couple sequels and a prequel (actually two versions of the prequel) that never really came close to the original film’s success. Now the question remains: is there still life in this horror franchise? While ‘The Exorcist: Believer does have a couple flaws here and there, this sequel does bring the scares.
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter, Angela, on his own.
But when Angela and her friend Katherine disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ delivers some decent scares throughout the sequel and also had some good jump scares here and there.
This entry of the ‘Exorcist’ franchise isn’t nearly as great or scary as the 1973 classic film. I mean, no film (whether it’s in this franchise or not) will ever be as thrilling as the first ‘Exorcist’ film. Yet, this marks a decent entry to a series that has spawned more lackluster follow ups than good installments.
There are some moments in ‘Exorcist: Believer’ that really stand out. When you see the girls slowly become possessed, it starts to get really eerie. And, of course, the exorcism sequence is pretty good. Sure there is a lot going on during those moments. But the tension is absolutely there. And the exorcism sequence ends in an intriguing and unexpected way - which I definitely won’t spoil what happens here.
It is also good to see Ellen Burstyn return to her infamous role of the mother from the 1973 classic. Even though she only appears in a handful of scenes, the character helps the characters out a bit. I honestly think the filmmakers should’ve excluded her scenes from the marketing trailers to make her role a surprise for the original film’s fans.
Overall, ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ is a decent sequel to add to this series. Despite the heavily mixed reaction from critics and fans, this is definitely one that horror fans should check out during this year’s scary time of year!
The cast includes: Leslie Odom Jr. as Victor Fielding; Olivia O’Neill as Katherine; Ann Dowd as Ann; Lidya Jewett as Angela; Norbert Leo Butz as Tony; Chloe Traicos as Jodee Maxwell; E.J. Banilla as Father Maddox; Jennifer Nettles as Miranda; Okwui Okpokwasili as Dr. Beehive and Ellen Burstyn as Chris O’Neill.
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ is written by Peter Settler and David Gordon Green and also directed by Green, who recently directed the ‘Halloween’ trilogy (2018 Halloween; Halloween Kills; Halloween Ends).
Rumblings of a potential return of the franchise started up in August 2020 and later became official a few months later. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions collaborated with Peacock to purchase distribution rights for a trilogy for $400 million total. The second entry of this new trilogy, ‘The Exorcist: Deceiver,’ is currently slated for an April 18, 2025 release date.
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ is rated R for violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references and has a running time of 111 minutes.
Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page your thoughts on this sequel and what your favorite movie in the horror franchise is. And, make sure to keep checking my page to see what I will be working on next!
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